1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel optical film comprising one or more polyarylates obtained from the condensation of one or more bifunctional phenolic units having specific substitutions with one or more bicarboxylic acid. More precisely, the present invention refers to a novel optical film, comprising one or more ortho-disubstituted bis(hydroxyphenyl)fluorene bisphenol polyarylates, having an excellent stability to ultraviolet and visible light, heat resistance, light transparency, high glass transition temperature (Tg) and very good mechanical properties.
2. Background of the Art
Optical films are well known in the art. Glass has been widely used for several optical applications, due to its excellent characteristics, such as transparency, a high transmittance in the visible light range and temperature resistance. Notwithstanding these benefits, due to its high weight and very high brittleness, the use of glass as a sublayer or support in optical applications may cause problems to the final product realization. In addition, because glass is not flexible, it cannot be used in continuous processing. This leads to a very low final productivity. For these reasons, it indesirable to replace glass with transparent polymeric films, such as polyesters (e.g., polyethyleneterephthalate), polyacrylates (e.g., polymethylmethacrylate) or polycarbonate. Even if these polymeric materials have good handling properties, they have, however, the disadvantage of poor transmittance, limited heat resistance and a low glass transition temperature (Tg), whereby the employment of these polymers in optical applications has been very limited.
Polyesters of 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic or terephthalic acid are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,165 describes such polyesters, which are thermally stable, but generally have a relatively low inherent viscosity and unsatisfactory mechanical properties. U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,209 describes polyesters made by reacting 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene with at least one member of the group consisting of isophthalic or terephthatic acid and using an interfacial polymerization process. The polyester inherent viscosity strongly depends upon the monomer purity, and relatively small variations in purity of the diphenol monomer may cause large deviations in the inherent viscosity values. Example 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,803 describes the preparation of polyesters of 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and a 50:50 mixture of isophthalic and terephthalic acid chloride using an interfacial polymerization process. The polyester is precipitated with an acetone-methanol blend to produce a material with an inherent viscosity of 1.67 dl/g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,511 discloses a process for spinning fibers obtained from the polycondensation product of 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and a mixture of isophthalic acid chloride and terephthalic acid chloride. Dichloromethane is suggested as a spinning solvent and the solvent precipitant preferably is an aqueous lower alkanol.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,623 discloses that certain aromatic, halogenated polyesters, prepared by inverted interfacial polymerization methods provide a polymer having a low content of low molecular weight fractions which causes a low polymer resistance with respect to the solvent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,306 discloses a 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene/isophthalic and terephthalic acid polyester which contains a very low level of oligomeric material and has a tensile strength, elongation, chemical resistance, temperature stability, ultraviolet resistance and vacuum stability higher than the copolymers containing oligomeric species described in the art. Films containing small amounts of oligomer will xe2x80x9cyellowxe2x80x9d or degrade upon limited exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
The same polyarylate comprising 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic and terephthalic acid is also described in JP patent application 57-192432. However, the resin color tends to the yellow upon exposure to UV radiation due to the diphenol component structure, thus making difficult the use of the resin in optical applications.
The resin obtained from the polyarylate is composed of 9,9-bis-(3-methyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid as reported in Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 29, p. 35 to 43 (1984). The polymer composed merely of isophthalic acid, results to be too fragile and has insufficient abrasion resistance and film coating quality.
Japanese Patent Application No. 09-071,640 discloses a resin composed of (a) an aromatic dicarboxylic acid, (b) a specific amount of a substituted 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and (c) an aliphatic glycol; said resin is utilized in optical materials for its good transparency and heat resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,771 discloses polyesters made of mono-ortho substituted bisphenols, and a blend of isophthalic and terephthalic acid.
EP Patent Application 943,640 describes a film prepared with polyarylates synthesized using bisphenolfluorenes mono- and bi-substituted in the ortho position with alkyl (C1-C4) groups. Such polyarylates have a better stability to ultraviolet radiation.
9,9-bis(3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene bisphenol monomer derived polyarylates have been disclosed in PCT Patent Application No. WO 00-33,949 as gas-separation membranes. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,945, there is described a polyarylate class obtained from dicarboxylic acid chlorides and cardo bisphenols having halo-substituents on all ortho positions of the phenol groups, which polymer is used to separate one or more components of a gas mixture. Such patents describe gas-separation membranes, but do not mention optical films consisting of such polymers.
The resins, known in the art, obtained from polyarylates composed of 9,9-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene or its ortho mono-substituted homologous, even if they have good high temperature resistance characteristics and mechanical properties, are subjected to yellowing when exposed to light sources and can be therefore hardly used in optical applications.
The present invention refers to an optical film comprising one or more polyarylates having at least some units represented by the general structure: 
wherein A represents one or more different bisphenolfluorene radicals having the general formula (I): 
xe2x80x83wherein R1 and R2 independently represent an alkyl group, a halogen, an alkoxy group, an acyl group, a phenyl group or a nitrile group, with the proviso that R1 and R2 are not both an alkyl group; R3, R4, R5 and R6 represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a halogen, an alkoxy group, an acyl group, a phenyl group, a nitro group, or a nitrile group;
B represents one or more different dicarboxy radicals having the formula: 
xe2x80x83wherein X is a divalent hydrocarbon group having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and n is the number of the repeating units which build up the polymer and is a positive integer higher than 20.
In the above formulas, as well as in the other formulas described hereinbelow, the lines terminating without an atom or group indication represent a chemical bond. The optical film of the present invention has excellent mechanical and thermal properties, a high Tg and does not readily yellow upon exposure to light.
The present invention refers to an optical film comprising one or more polyarylates having at least some repeating units represented by the general structure: 
wherein A represent one or more divalent radical A, B represent one or more divalent radical B and wherein n is the number of the repeating units which build up the polymer and is a positive integer higher than 20.
In the above mentioned structure, the radicals A and B are structurally derived from the relative diphenol and dicarboxylic acid by removal of a hydrogen atom from the phenolic group and a hydroxy group from the carboxilic group, as if the resulting xe2x80x94Axe2x80x94Bxe2x80x94 repeating unit was obtained by a condensation reaction in which a molecule of water (H2O) was removed. Although the mechanism of this reaction is not critical, and it may be possible for other reactions or reaction mechanisms to provide the same structure for the product (for example, by removal of a molecule of HCl from a phenol and a carboxylic acid choride), that product and the individual resultant groups shall be referred to in the practice of the present invention (solely for the purposes of convenience and not for limiting the mechanism of formation) to a condensation product, condensation-like product, condensation derivative or condensation-like derivative.
The wording xe2x80x9cone or more radical Axe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cone or more radical Bxe2x80x9d means that the optical film of the present invention can contain a polyarylate deriving from the condensation of one or more radical A with one or more radical B so that the resulting polymeric structure can comprise a random structure of several different radicals A with several different radicals B, such as, for example, xe2x80x94Axe2x80x94Bxe2x80x94Axe2x80x2xe2x80x94Bxe2x80x2xe2x80x94Axe2x80x94Bxe2x80x2xe2x80x94Axe2x80x2xe2x80x94Bxe2x80x2.
In the above described repeating unit, radical A represents one or more different bisphenolfluorene radicals having the general formula (I): 
wherein R1 and R2 independently represent an alkyl group, a halogen, an alkoxy group, an acyl group, a phenyl group or a nitrile group, with the proviso that R1 and R2 are not both an alkyl group; R3, R4, R5 and R6 represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a halogen, an alkoxy group, an acyl group, a phenyl group, a nitro group, or a nitrile group.
In the above reported formula, R1 and R2 preferably represent a linear or branched alkyl group having form 1 to 6 carbon atoms, such as e.g., methyl, ethyl, butyl, isopropyl; a halogen atom, such as chlorine, bromine, iodine or fluorine; a linear or branched alkoxy group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, such as e.g., methoxyl, ethoxyl, butoxyl; an acyl group having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, such as e.g., acetyl, propionyl; a phenyl group or a nitrile group, with the proviso that R1 and R2 are not both an alkyl group; and R3, R4, R5 and R6 preferably represent a hydrogen atom, a linear or branched alkyl group, preferably having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms (such as e.g., methyl, ethyl, butyl, isopropyl); a halogen atom (such as chlorine, bromine, iodine or fluorine); a linear or branched alkoxy group, having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms (such as e.g., methoxyl, ethoxyl, butoxyl); an acyl group having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms (such as e.g. acetyl, propionyl, etc.); a phenyl group or a nitrite group.
Preferably, radical A represents one or more different or similar bisphenolfluorene radicals having general formula (II): 
wherein R1 and R2 (as described above) represent a linear or branched alkyl group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, such as e.g. a methyl, ethyl, butyl group, a halogen atom, such as chlorine, bromine, iodine or fluorine, with the proviso that R1 and R2 are not both an alkyl group.
In the above described repeating unit, radical B represents one or more different dicarboxy radicals having the formula: 
wherein X is a divalent hydrocarbon group having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, such as, for example, a saturated or unsaturated aliphatic group (e.g., methylene group, ethylene group, propylene group, butylene group) or an aromatic group (such as a phenylene group, naphthalene group or diphenylene group).
In the above reported formula, X is preferably a divalent aromatic group having from 6 to 20 carbon atoms, such as arylene groups, naftylene groups and difenylene groups represented by the following formulas: 
More preferably, the optical film of the present invention comprises one or more polyarylates comprising one or more different repeating units represented by general formula (III): 
wherein R1 and R2 are as defined in formula (II) and n is a positive integer higher than 20. Still more preferably, the present invention refers to an opticalfilm comprising one or more polyarylates comprising two different repeating units represented by 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene radicals of general formula (II) linked with two dicarboxy radicals derived from two different dicarboxylic acids, such as isophthalic acid and terephthalic acid, 1,2-dinaphthoic acid and 1,4-dinaphthoic acid, 1,1xe2x80x2-diphenyl-4,4xe2x80x2-dicarboxylic acid and 1,1xe2x80x2-diphenyl-4,2xe2x80x2-dicarboxylic acid, isophthalic acid and 1,2-dinaphthoic acid, and the like. The dicarboxylic acids are usually mixed in a weight ratio of from 1:10 to 10:1, preferably from 1:4 to 4:1. Most preferably, isophthalic acid (or a derivative thereof) and terephthalic acid (or a derivative thereof) in a weight ratio of from 1:4 to 4:1 are used.
When in the present invention the term xe2x80x9cgroupxe2x80x9d is used to describe a chemical compound or substituent, the described chemical material comprises the group, ring and base residue and that group, ring or residue with conventional substituents. When on the contrary the term xe2x80x9cunitxe2x80x9d is used, the unsubstituted chemical material is intended to be included. For instance, the term xe2x80x9calkyl groupxe2x80x9d comprises not only those alkyl units, such as methyl, ethyl, butyl, octyl, etc., but also those units bearing substituents such as halogen, nitrite, hydroxy, nitro, amino, carboxy, etc. The term xe2x80x9calkyl unitxe2x80x9d on the contrary comprises only methyl, ethyl, cyclohexyl, etc.
Polyarylates useful to the present invention comprise the following repeating units (wherein n is the number of repeating unit and is an integer higher than 20), even if the present invention is not limited thereto. 
The bisphenolfluorene monomers described in the present invention have been obtained with methods known in the art, such as for instance with the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,838.
The polyarylates used in the present invention can be prepared with methods known in the art: there can be used for instance the solution polymerization method described in Ind. Eng. Chem. 51, 147, 1959, wherein a bifunctional carboxylic acid dihalide reacts with a bifunctional phenol in an organic solution; the xe2x80x9cmoltenxe2x80x9d polymerization method, wherein a bifunctional carboxylic acid and a bifunctional phenol are heated in the presence of acetic anhydride or diallylcarbonate, as described in JP patent application 38-26299; or the interfacial polymerization method, wherein a bifunctional carboxylic acid dihalide dissolved in a hydrophobic organic solvent is mixed with a bifunctional phenol dissolved in alkali water solution, as described in J. Polymer Science, XL399, 1959 and in EP patent applications 943,640 and 396,418.
The optical films of the present invention can be obtained with methods known in the art, such as for instance with the solvent coating technique which consists of preparing a polymer solution, herein defined as collodion, in an organic solvent and pouring this solution onto a base, such as metal, glass or plastic material; the film is then obtained after drying the collodion and subsequent release from the base. Generally, organic solvents are used, such as e.g., halogenated solvents (such as methylene chloride, chloroform, tetrachloroethane, dichloroethane, etc.) or other solvents such as N-methylpyrrolidone, N,N-dimethylformamide, dioxane, tetrahydro-furane, etc.
Other methods known in the art than can be used to obtain the films of the present invention are the one known as xe2x80x9cspin coatingxe2x80x9d, wherein the collodion is poured onto a quick-rotating base, or the hot extrusion or hot lamination methods, which are based on a molten polymer processing.
The thickness of the optical film of the present invention ranges from 0.1 to 1000 xcexcm, preferably from 1 to 1000 xcexcm.
The optical film of the present invention shall be highly transparent and have the slightest possible amount of impurities or surface or inside defects such as not to cause interference with the light radiation passing through it. To obtain such properties, it is advisable to filter the collodion with techniques known in the art, by using filters with pores having sizes of less than 10 xcexcm, preferably less than 1 xcexcm, more preferably less than 0.1 xcexcm.
The optical film object of the present invention may have additional protective layers on one or both surfaces in order to improve some of its characteristics, such as for example solvent resistance, gas and water vapor permeability, mechanical properties, surface scratch resistance, light radiation resistance. The protective layers may consist of organic or inorganic materials or mixtures thereof and can be applied with techniques known in the art, such as for instance the solvent coating technique (described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,172,065; 4,405,550; 4,664,859 and 5,063,138), the vacuum coating technique (described e.g. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,380,212; 4,449,478; 4,485,759 and 4,817,559), the lamination technique (described e.g. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,844,764; 5,000,809; 5,208,068 and 5,238,746) or resin reticulation with an electron beam or an ultraviolet radiation, as described e.g. in WO application 96-24,929 and JP 02-260145.
The optical film of the present invention, at the inside or in additional layers thereof, may contain ultraviolet radiation stabilizers, such as for instance benzophenone compounds (e.g., hydroxy-dodecyloxy benzophenones, 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenones, and the like), triazole compounds (e.g., 2-phenyl-4-(2xe2x80x2,2xe2x80x2-dihydroxybenzoyl)-triazole, substituted hydroxy-phenyltriazoles, and the like), triazine compounds (e.g., hydroxyphenyl-1,3,5-triazine, 3,5-dialkyl-4-hydroxy-phenyl-triazine, and the like), benzoate compounds (e.g., diphenolpropane dibenzoate, diphenolpropane tert.-butyl-benzoate, and the like), sterically hindered amine and other compounds like those described for instance in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,061,616 and 5,00,809.
The optical film of the present invention, in the inside or additional layers thereof, may also contain transparent pigments to improve the film durability, such as for instance metal oxides (e.g., titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxide), metal hydroxides, chromates, carbonates, and the like, such as those described for instance in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,809. In addition, the optical film of the present invention may also contain slip agents (such as the wetting agents described in JP patent application 02-260,145) and antioxidizing and stabilizing substances, such as, for example, sterically hindered phenol antioxidizers, organic and inorganic phosphites, ortho-hydroxybenzotriazoles or antistatic agents to decrease static charge storage and the consequent attraction of powder onto the optical film.
The optical films of the present invention can be widely used in the optical application field, such as for instance in panels or flattened layers for liquid crystal screens, in supports and protective layers for electroluminescent screens, in polarizer transparent conducting films, and similar applications due to their good mechanical properties, such as tensile strength, dimensional stability, further to being completely amorphous and transparent and having a high heat resistance and a high Tg. Their use as lens, both ophthalmic lenses, planographic lenses, and focal lenses is also contemplated in the practice of the invention.
The present invention is now illustrated by reference to the following examples which however are not construed as limiting it.